Edward Lyman Abbott
Captain Edward Lyman Abbott was a Canadian multisport athlete and soldier. Abbott was considered a fine sportsman in Regina, Saskatchewan, and won national championships in ice hockey, and rugby football. He is the namesake of the Abbott Cup, and is honoured in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. Abbott was a decorated officer in the Canadian Expeditionary Force, and died in action during World War I in France.
Early life
Abbott was born on May 1, 1891, in Lovering, Ontario, the son of James Henry Abbott and Mary Ann Jackson. He moved westward with his family in 1897, and acquired the nickname "Hick," short for hickory. Abbott played hockey in high school, and developed into a fast-skating right-winger, with a knack for scoring. As a member of the Regina Shamrocks and the Regina Bees, he won the Valkenburg Cup in 1911 and 1912, as champion of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League. He was captain of the Regina Victorias that won the 1914 Allan Cup, and was a member of the Regina Rugby Club from 1913 to 1915, that won the Western Canada Rugby Football Union each year. Abbott was a law student, and senior civil servant for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan before joining the military.Military career
Abbott enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force on September 23, 1915, in Regina. He completed officer training in Winnipeg, and was assigned to the 68th Battalion as a lieutenant. He was deployed for duty on April 28, 1916, from Halifax Harbour, aboard. Abbott was promoted to captain in the 52nd Battalion on October 30, 1916. In combat, he suffered gunshot wounds to his shoulder, and shrapnel in his eye, but continued to serve. Abbott was awarded the Military Cross in July 1917, the citation for which reads as follows:A medal bar was added to his MC three months later after he led a raid on enemy trenches despite being outnumbered. The bar's citation reads:
During the Battle of Amiens on August 14, 1918, Abbott was killed in action, by a sniper's bullet to the head. Abbott was interred in the New British Cemetery in Roye, France, grave reference I.B.13.